color() / colour() — Colour Animation Cue

Animates the visual colour of SVG elements over time using HSL interpolation.

Both spellings are fully equivalent:

color(...)  ≡  colour(...)

Quick Examples

// Cycle through three colours
color(vals:[#f00, #0f0, #00f], dur:3)

// Continuous rainbow hue rotation
color(vals:hue, dur:10, loop:0)

// Alternating palette (ping-pong)
color(vals:[#f80, #08f], mode:alt, dur:1.2)

// Pattern-driven sequence
color(vals:Pseq([red, yellow, cyan], 4), dur:0.5)

Basic Syntax

color(
    vals:[...],      // colour values or hue keyword
    dur:beats,     // duration per transition
    mode:mode,       // interpolation mode
    loop:n           // repetitions (0 = infinite)
)

Parameters

vals: (required)

Defines the colour values or behaviour.

Discrete Colour Values

Supported formats (interpolation always happens in HSL space):

• Hex: #f00, #ff8800
• RGB: rgb(255, 0, 0)
• HSL: hsl(120, 80, 50)
• Named: any CSS colour name — red, gold, tomato, rebeccapurple, …

Formats mix freely in one list, and hex/names work inside patterns:

color(vals:[#f00, #0f0, #00f], dur:2)
color(vals:[rgb(255,0,0), hsl(240,80,50), tomato, #00ffaa], dur:2)
color(vals:Pseq(#ff0055, gold, inf), dur:0.5)

none (or transparent) is no colour: with mode:step the fill (or line) disappears for that step; gliding, the colour fades out to it and the next one fades in from it.

color(vals:Prand([black, none, none], inf), target:fill, mode:step, dur:0.3)
color(vals:[red, none], dur:1)

Hue Cycling (Continuous)

Full 360° hue rotation:

color(vals:hue, dur:6)

Range-limited cycle:

color(vals:hue(120, 240), dur:4)

This cycles only through the green-to-blue range.

Pattern Sequences

color(vals:Pseq([#f00, #ff0, #0ff], 3), dur:1)
color(vals:Prand([#f80, #08f, #8f0], inf), dur:0.8)

dur:

Duration in beats for one transition (or one full hue cycle).

color(vals:[#f00, #0f0], dur:2)      // 2 beats per transition
color(vals:hue, dur:10)               // 10 beats per full rotation

Duration can also be a pattern:

color(vals:[#f00, #0f0, #00f], dur:Pseq([1, 0.5, 2], inf))

mode:

Controls interpolation behaviour.

// Smooth transitions
color(vals:[#f00, #0f0], dur:2, mode:linear)

// Bounce back and forth
color(vals:[#f00, #0f0], dur:2, mode:alt)

// Instant colour changes
color(vals:[#f00, #0f0, #00f], dur:0.5, mode:step)

loop:

Number of repetitions.

loop:3    // repeat three times then stop
loop:0    // infinite (default for hue cycling)
loop:1    // play once

uid:

Unique identifier for the animation instance.

color(uid:myColor, vals:hue, dur:5)

trig:

Trigger mode.

color(vals:[#f00, #00f], dur:2, trig:playhead)

tdelay:

Delay before animation starts (beats).

color(vals:hue, dur:6, tdelay:2)    // wait 2 beats then start

init:

Initial visibility before animation starts.

color(vals:hue, dur:5, init:hide, trig:playhead)
color(vals:[#f00, #0f0], dur:2, init:fadein(1))
color(vals:hue, dur:10, init:armed, trig:playhead)

target:

Specifies which SVG property to animate.

// Animate fill only
color(vals:[#f00, #00f], dur:2, target:fill)

// Animate stroke only (useful for outlines)
color(vals:hue, dur:10, target:stroke)

// Animate both (default)
color(vals:[#f00, #0f0], dur:2, target:both)

osc:

Enable OSC output.

color(vals:hue, dur:10, osc:1)

OSC output includes:

• h — Hue (0–360)
• s — Saturation (0–100)
• l — Lightness (0–100)
• hNorm — Normalised hue (0–1)
• sNorm — Normalised saturation (0–1)
• lNorm — Normalised lightness (0–1)

oscaddr:

Custom OSC address.

color(vals:hue, dur:8, osc:1, oscaddr:/visuals/bg/hue)

Colour Interpolation

All interpolation occurs in HSL colour space:

• Hue: Circular interpolation (shortest angular path)
• Saturation: Linear interpolation
• Lightness: Linear interpolation

This means transitions between colours feel natural and avoid muddy intermediate tones.

Shortest Path Hue

When transitioning between hues, Oscilla takes the shortest path around the colour wheel:

#f00 → #00f    // Red to Blue: goes via magenta (shorter)
                // NOT via yellow/green (longer)

Patterns

Pseq — Sequential

Plays values in order, repeating a specified number of times.

color(vals:Pseq([#f00, #ff0, #0f0], 3), dur:1)
// Plays: red, yellow, green, red, yellow, green, red, yellow, green

Prand — Random

Selects randomly, may repeat the same value consecutively.

color(vals:Prand([#f00, #0f0, #00f], inf), dur:0.5)

Pxrand — Exclusive Random

Selects randomly but never repeats the same value twice in a row.

color(vals:Pxrand([#f00, #0f0, #00f], inf), dur:0.5)

Pshuf — Shuffle

Shuffles the values, plays through, then reshuffles.

color(vals:Pshuf([#f00, #ff0, #0f0, #0ff], 2), dur:0.8)

Examples

Discrete Colour Melody

color(vals:[#f00, #ff0, #0ff, #f0f], dur:1.5)

Warm to Cool Transition

color(vals:[#f80, #fa0, #ff0, #8f0, #0f8, #0ff], dur:6)

Breathing Glow

color(vals:[hsl(200,80%,30%), hsl(200,80%,60%)], mode:alt, dur:2, loop:0)

Continuous Spectrum

colour(vals:hue, dur:20, loop:0)

Limited Hue Range

color(vals:hue(0, 60), dur:4, loop:0)    // Red to yellow only
color(vals:hue(180, 300), dur:5)          // Cyan to magenta

Rhythmic Colour Pulses

color(vals:[#fff, #000], mode:step, dur:0.25, loop:0)

Pattern with Variable Timing

color(
    vals:Pseq([#f00, #0f0, #00f], inf),
    dur:Pseq([1, 0.5, 2], inf)
)

Playhead-Triggered Fade

color(
    vals:[#333, #f80],
    dur:3,
    trig:playhead,
    init:fadein(0.5)
)

With OSC Output

colour(
    vals:hue,
    dur:15,
    loop:0,
    osc:1,
    oscaddr:/stage/wash/hue
)

Named Colours Reference

Any CSS colour name works (gold, tomato, steelblue, rebeccapurple, …) — names are normalized through the browser's own colour parser. A small core set (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, magenta, pink, white, black, gray/grey) resolves without touching the browser at all.

For precise control, use hex, RGB, or HSL notation.

Stopping: off:1

color(off:1) on the same element stops it at the colour it has reached. Run the color again to start it from there. In the live console Ctrl+Shift+. on the line does this.

Tips

1. Use HSL for control: hsl(h, s%, l%) gives direct control over hue, saturation, and lightness.

2. Hue cycling for ambience: vals:hue creates slow, evolving colour fields without discrete steps.

3. Step mode for rhythm: mode:step creates hard cuts useful for rhythmic visual accents.

4. Alt mode for breathing: mode:alt with two colours creates organic pulsing effects.

5. Combine with other cues: Colour animations work alongside scale, rotate, and o2p animations on the same element.

On the control plane

A color() publishes what it is doing, so a hue cycle can drive something else:

and takes a follow() on dur:, sampled when the cue starts:

color(uid:hc, vals:[#111, #eee], dur: follow(fader.t, 8, 0.5), loop:0)
synth(uid:s1, wave:sine, freq: follow(hc.hNorm, 90, 900), amp:0.1)

Open the connections view to see these as ports.

See Also

• rotate() — Rotation animation
• scale() — Scale animation
• o2p() — Object-to-path animation
• Patterns — Pattern system reference

Demo

See demo-color — colour sequences, a continuous hue cycle, and a speed bound to a fader.

http://localhost:8001/?project=demo-color

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